SASUKE:Shoujo Beat NARUTO
by Tsuki96Megumi
Summary: He blames Tsunade for the example, Sakura for insisting his body needed time off, Iruka for being one of the Hokage's soft spot, Sai for actually smiling sincerely and Kakashi for just being Kakashi through the whole ordeal. He blames the sixth Hokage most, Uzumaki Naruto. "Dobe, I'll f*****g kill you for this!" [Full Summary Inside]
1. The Dobe Is Dead

**SASUKE: Shoujo Beat NARUTO**

**A/N: ** Those KakaSaku fics I read are so annoying! Now, I can't help but want to write something on Naruto. Since the last time I read or watched Naruto was well, ages... (Blame me for being the only animanga fan in the house why don't you...*pouts*) This story will be AU-ish (because I can't stand having my favourite characters dead), I'm deeply sorry loyal Naruto fans out there. For those who enjoys shoujo and romance like myself, enjoy!

P/S: I'll be putting a few (maybe a LOT) OC in this fic. And OOC-ness is expected, _hontou, gomen_!

**Disclaimer:** Obviously, I don't own Naruto or else you'll find me lying dead on my desk, the series already finished (all my favourite characters _alive_ and lots of romance). I'm too kind (or too lazy) to stop torturing people with all the suspense.

**Summary:** After coming back from a three year mission, all Sasuke wanted was to recharge and get back to work, as per usual. Imagine his remorse after finding out he was sentenced to a temporary 'vacation'-only will be given missions no higher than B-Rank, if he was lucky. Not only that, he was ordered to be a 'Substitute Jounin Instructor' (whatever that is) to a team of genin. He blames Tsunade for the example, Sakura for insisting his body needed time off, Iruka for being one of the Hokage's soft spot, Sai for actually smiling sincerely and Kakashi for just being Kakashi through the whole ordeal.

He blames the sixth Hokage most, Uzumaki Naruto. "_Dobe_, I'll fucking kill you for this!"

* * *

**CHAPTER 1:** The _Dobe _Is Dead.

THE SUN began showing its joyful beams, prompting anyone basking under its dazzling light and warmth to shine as itself. Morning mist was still faintly taunting, adding a serenity one basked with a peaceful mind as birds chirped merrily and dewdrops dripping onto the river surface. The day was early indeed, a good day at that. Perfect for training and most shinobi agreed, judging by almost half of the training grounds were occupied so early. A day as such, was greeted joyously by everyone living in the Hidden Leaf village; Konohagakure.

_Whish!_ Not everyone.

Five innocent dummies were sliced to pieces in Training Ground Three, a giant shuriken stuck on the fifth three behind those dummies, the tree's friends in front of it sliced. The tree was lucky it was not struck by any fire or lightning jutsu else it would not have survived, nor would its other pals. A grunt was heard after the whole ordeal, before a fisted hand punched a bark of tree in frustration. Withdrawing his left hand, the last surviving Uchiha inhaled a deep breath to calm himself. If anything, he would not lower himself enough to be unable to control his emotions on his first meeting with his students. Yes, let it be known throughout the whole nation that from this day onwards, Uchiha Sasuke-ex-international criminal, ex-missing nin, skillful Jounin, respected ANBU captain-was a 'Substitute Jounin Instructor' for a team of genin. Unable to diminish the vein popping on his head at the reminder, he punched the tree again, successfully tumbling it onto the ground. It was lucky he was not Tsunade or worst, Sakura. Thinking about both women made him think about the common denominator those two shared with a certain someone he desperately wanted to kill at that particular moment. More than he ever wanted to kill Itachi-that was saying something.

The _kyubi_ vessel. _Jinchuriki_. _Dobe_. Teammate. Rival. Best Friend. Hokage.

Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

ANOTHER successful S-Rank mission. This time, in Lightning. For three whole years. A solo mission. He was rather proud for finishing a supposed to be five years mission ahead of schedule-by two years. Heh. How many could brag about that? He passed the Konoha gate in his usual apathetic, slightly cheery-he changd a bit, sue him-manner. Izumo and Kotetsu greeted his return warmly and was regarded with his ever so popular 'Hn'. It was amazing what time could do, and honesty. And sincerity. Else he would never be able to walk through that gate again after what he did to Konoha a few years back. He paid handsomely for the trouble he caused, of course. His chakra sealed for a year, a week of interrogation-intense one from Ibiki-two weeks of house arrest and six months of monitoring. His eyebrow twitched remembering the last part of his 'payment'. Simply because the two person in charge of monitoring him was no other than a ramen-loving idiot and the green beast of his generation. Even Uchiha Madara would repent after being with the two twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Which explained why his punishment was rather severe compared to others. Tsunade_ is_ a very terrifying woman.

Most shinobi woud have headed home first, then the Hokage's office. Especially since the current Hokage was very understanding but not him. He would rather deliver his report first, then head home. A wise choice too since he would possibly be exhausted again afterwards. Emotionally and mentally. If he was unlucky enough, physically. He reached the Hokage's office in a matter of minutes, wanting to settle this whole ordeal as quickly as possible and recharge himself thoroughly. Granted permission to enter after several knocks, he entered the Hokage's office to find familiar faces gathering inside.

"_Teme_! Welcome back! I wasn't expecting you until next year and next year!" The Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto greeted happily.

His eyebrow quirked. _Next year and next year?_ _Konoha's Hokage, everyone._ He sighed. "Couldn't you just say 'in two years' like a normal person, _dobe_?"

Naruto glared at the dark haired Uchiha as he banged his table and pointed a finger rudely at his rival/best friend. "Who're you calling '_dobe_', _teme_?! I'm the Hokage, I demand you to call me Hokage-_sama _or Naruto-_sam_-aa...Ow! Sakura-_cha~n_!" He rubbed his head and pouted, giving Sakura his 'sad eyes' for interrupting him with her fist.

The pink haired medic and only kunoichi in Team Seven crossed her arms across her chest as she glared daggers at her childish friend. It was a wonder how Konoha still survived since Naruto took over the mantle of responsibility from her shishou. "Seeing that you're aware that you're the Hokage, how about acting like one, Na-ru-to-_sa_-_ma_?"

Every male in the room, namely; Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Sai and Iruka winced at her deceptively sweet tone. Naruto, being the soon-to-be target of Sakura's wrath gulped before sitting down, placed his hand on his desk and sitting straight. He cleared his throat, sweat dropped simultaneously as he turned his gaze to Sasuke.

"Uchiha Sasuke, congratulations on completing yet another dangerous mission. Your skills amazes me," Naruto paused.

Sasuke stared. Not only was he plagued by questions why these people were in the room-a surprise welcoming reunion, maybe?-but also the fact that Naruto could sound mature. Naruto. Mature. The world was coming to the end.

"But I'm going to beat you at our next training session!" Ah. Thank _Kami_. The world would survive.

"Naruto," Iruka scoffed, making the blonde haired male snapped back into topic-whatever the topic was.

"Right. Uchiha, is it true you have been going on A and S-Ranks missions these past five years non-stop?" Naruto asked.

"Hn."

"With only maximum four days rest in between these missions?"

"Hn." _So..?_

"I see."

"Hn." _Eh?_

"Uchiha Sasuke, starting tomorrow you are released from your average missions on a-well-something that's like a vacation."

"Hn." _Wait..._ "What?"

"You're given a vacation."

Vacation? "What?"

Naruto winced at the slightly cold tone and gaze directed at him. An angry _teme_ is an awful _teme_. The blonde man spared a look at Sakura, in which the pink haired woman sighed in understanding.

"Sasuke-_kun_, you've been stressing your body all these years. If you keep on going like this, I doubt you'll last as old as Kakashi," Sakura interrupted.

"I'm not old," mumbled Kakashi in the background, which Sakura thoroughly ignored.

"Point?" Sasuke asked, toneless.

"The point is you need a break from that, you self-destructive, vindictive, pretty boy!" Sakura practically yelled with how intense she glared at Sasuke.

The raven haired young man stepped back a bit. Prepared to flee at any slight angry movement Sakura might lash on him. After getting over him, he stood just as much chance of being hit by one of the most talented kunoichi of their generation as Naruto, Sai and Kakashi. A hit coming from someone who possessed strength enough to break a mountain, he knew better than to stay in case the worst happen, namely, angry Sakura. Which explained why he sighed in resignation, ignoring Kakashi's smirk-he knew that man was smirking under that mask, he just knew.

"How long?"

Everyone in the room smiled at that-which, Sasuke had a bugging feeing they were grinning instead. Including Sai. His intincts told him to flee but an Uchiha, _Uchiha_ _Sasuke _do not flee.

"Until I say you're not."

_WHAT?_ "What am I supposed to do on this vacation? Your paperwork?"

Naruto's eyes sparkled at this, only to wither at Iruka's 'Teacher Look'. Sasuke smirked.

With a pout, he continued. "You'll be helping Iruka-_sensei_."

That churning feeling again. "With?"

"I need a Substitute Jounin Instructor," said Iruka, smiling guiltily at his former student.

Substitute. Jounin. Instructor. "WHAT?"

"Well, you see, Sasuke-_kun_, I think having a former member of Team Seven to teach the new Team Seven is a great idea, with all of you being legends after all, to be mentors of our future generation. I mean, you can pass the younger ones your own legacy," explained Iruka.

He understood what Iruka meant, for sure but something still bugged him. "Who exactly am I substituting for?"

"Kakashi." "Kakashi-_senpai_." "Kakashi-_sensei_."

"Kakashi." Sasuke glared at the masked man. "Why am I your substitute?"

"Ah—Sasuke-_kun_, you see, Naruto's Hokage so he's out of the question, Sakura's busy with her medic duties and Sai's... Sai," he answered, rubbing the back of his head.

"What about you?"

"I'm busy."

"With...?"

"My, I didn't know you're so nosy Sasuke-_kun_."

Sasuke crossed his arm across his chest and glared at Naruto defiantly. "I decline."

"You can't decline. This is a direct order from the Hokage, right, Hokage-_sama_?" Sai explained innocently.

"Yup. I feel sorry for you, _teme_." He was gifted with a very angry-you're-dead glare from Sasuke, making him shudder. He was as good as dead.

"Here's the file of your students," said Sai, extending three files to him with a sincere smile. Sincere smile filled with mischief and mirth. Everyone present decided Sai was better off with a fake one instead of that.

"I'm telling Hinata to cut off your ramen consumption," he said as he retrieved the files, glaring at Naruto with evil intent and exiting the building.

"Nooo! _Teme_! Not my ramen!" The sixth Hokage wailed in agony.

The three other people in the office sweat dropped (except for Sai because he's Sai), mentally reminding themselves not to annoy the last Uchiha as much as Naruto.

* * *

"Umm... _Ano... Sensei_?"

That timid voice brought him back from yesterday's event. He turned around from the broken tree to see three children forms under his gaze. He was brooding, as usual, with his scowl as he scanned his 'students'. The voice calling out to him belonged to the only female in his 'team'. A long, curly brown haired girl with blue eyes. She was standing in the middle of two boys. An unruly blonde haired, green eyed one, another with chocolate hair and eyes.

"You're late. Thirty minutes late from your supposed meeting," he said coldly.

"We're really sorry, _sensei_. We would be on time if it wasn't for this idiot here," the brown haired girl said, glaring at her blonde teammate.

"Anzu-_chan_! How could you! I was busy asking Iruka-_sensei _if we could have Naruto-_nii_ as our instructor instead!"

"Huh. The Hokage have better thing to do than teach the likes of you, BaKane," the second boy said, with a smirk.

"What did you say _teme_? My name's not BaKane! You're the _baka_ here!"

"Says the one who scored last to the one who came out first. Right, Rui-_kun_?" The girl retorted, her eyes turned heart shaped as she looked at the chocolate haired boy.

"Anzu-_cha~n~_"

The adult among these kids winced at that. He rubbed his temple, feeling a headache forming. "That's enough. Why don't you introduce yourself instead?" He ordered, remembering that was what Kakashi did when he was his teacher. "Tell me your name, likes, dislike, dreams, whatever."

"Me first!" The blonde said enthusiastically. He touched his forehead protector eagerly, tied around his forehead. "My name's Inuzuka Kane! I like ramen and sweets! I also like Konohamaru-_nii_! I hate Rui-_teme_ and running out of ramen! My dream is to be a great Hokage like Naruto-_nii_!"

_An Inuzuka who looks up to and behaves like Naruto. Great._ "What about you, girl?"

"My name's Sato Anzu. The thing I like, well, person I like is," a glance at the chocolate haired boy. "The thing I don't like... Kane." A wailing Kane saying "Anzu-_chan~_" came into the picture. "My dream is..." The girl had a dreamy look on her face and kept on glancing at her teammate.

"Next," Sasuke ordered, his headache more persistent than earlier. _The old Sakura. Great. She even wears her head protector like Sakura._

"Name, Hyuga Rui. I was adopted by Hyuga Neji and Ten Ten. Like, food. Dislike, I don't like many things so it'll take a while to get the whole list out. Dream, well, considering I'll make my dream a reality, I guess not much."

Now, if this was not how a mocking look like, then he was naive and Sasuke was many things _but_ naive. This kid, Rui, reminded him of... _him_, when he was that age, minus killing intent and all. Ugh... His head...

"_Sensei_! It's your turn to introduce yourself!"

_Loudmouthed just like that_ _dobe_. "You already know who I am."

"Come on, _sensei_. Please?" Anzu gave him a puppy eyed face. Sasuke's eye twitched. _Even uses the same trick as Sakura._

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. You'll address me as Sasuke-_sensei_," he pressed that part. Feeling superior was good. "I don't hate anything in particular," _Except a couple of things led with Naruto on top at the moment. _"I like nothing in particular and my dream is, well, I've accomplished it," he finished.

"That's not telling us anything except your name, Sasuke-_sensei_!" Kane whined, followed with a puffing cheeks Anzu and a scowl from Rui.

The Uchiha's eye twitced again, remembering that sentence was quite similar to what Naruto said back then on their first training session as Team Seven. Although that time, to Kakashi. The parallels were too close to ignore. Sasuke annoyingly registered that this team he was in charge of, this new generation of Team Seven was no other than a replica of Team Seven he, Sakura and Naruto were a part of. Which made him Kakashi. Kakashi. He would pay anything in order to no be similar to that perverted, Icha Icha addict, Sakura's virtue murderer (the list went on and on) shinobi except in terms of skills. There was no chance for him to fool himself. Put Kane in Naruto's place, Anzu in Sakura's and Rui in his, he felt a familiar sense of deja vu. "_Dobe_, I swear I'll fucking kill you," he cursed under his breath.

A distance away, at the Hokage's office, Naruto shuddered. "I'm screwed."

**TBC**

* * *

**A/N:** My first Naruto fanfic and might be my first long series! I'm expecting reviews and favs, please since it's the only inclination people like my story. Believe it or not, my writer's block depends on it! I'm intending this to be more like a spin-off-it would be a spin off if the whole Naruto franchise's mine... *sulks in a corner* Feel free to PM me as well!


	2. This Brings Back Memories

******A/N: ** Second chapter is UP! I can't help it! Ideas are pouring and all, plus, there's motivation since two people already is following my story!

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own Naruto... Or Sasuke... Or Kakashi... Or Neji... Or Minato... What? It's normal for a girl to like hot guys!

* * *

**CHAPTER 2:** This Brings Back Memories.

IT WAS a very funny sight. Very. Only could ever be found at Training Ground Three. The sun had rose into a scorching condition, rendered by spring, thankfully. Leaves were rustling as a gust of wind passed ever so often. A nice afternoon. Complete with a string of curses from a boy hung upside down of a branch, his blond hair seemed more yellow than earlier this morning and his cheeks red, fuming with anger or frustration or embarrassment. Frustration sounded funnier. The perpetrator who oh so helpfully helped hang the boy upside down jumped off from that particular branch, confirmed his knots were secured. Sasuke landed flawlessly onto the ground, a sadistic smirk plastered on his face. No wonder Kakashi tied Naruto up back then. It felt awfully satisfying, the swaying motion, flushed face and string of curses coming from his victim. Ironically, Sasuke's victim was one of the member of his new genin team whom he had dubbed as 'Naruto-_San_', considering 'Naruto-_Nigou_' belonged to the Third's grandson.

"Damn it! Let me down, _sensei_!" Kane yelled in sheer frustration, wiggling against his binds, which, the first bind started from his chest to waist, successfully pinning his arms at his side and the second at his ankles. He was looking more and more like a wriggling worm. It was not helping the fact he felt hot and sweaty. He was wearing a sleeveless black turtleneck, inside the bulky navy blue hoodie not made of cotton. He was more than grateful he managed to stand up to his cousin, Kiba on his decision to not wear his old genin attire-something about making the teachers' nostalgic. "Sasuke-_sensei_!

"Why should I?"

"Because, _sensei_! Using ropes to bind me is cheating! It's not ninjutsu, taijutsu or genjutsu!"

"I said anything goes so it's not cheating. Hang on tight," Sasuke replied calmly as he trotted away from the squirming boy. He inwardly grinned hearing him calling his name, correction, whined his name. This would be so much fun, even though he would still make Naruto's life ramen free since killing him was not attainable-he _is_ the Hokage, damn it all.

Who should be his next victim?

* * *

THREE big eyed children were staring at him. One filled with excitement, one wonder and another apprehension. He was not that good with kids. Or people in general though he was not as bad as Sai. Heck, Ino's kids were great with him and some other of his peers'. The girls though. For the nth time that morning alone, he imagined strangling a _chibi_ version of Naruto in his Hokage attire, just for the sake of it as opposed to the usual _chibi_ with that orange get up. He never taught anyone anything, much less children. He did present a valuable lesson on not to betray your village, not to betray your friends in a quest for power, revenge, jealousy and left a pink haired kunoichi on a bench. Indirectly. Sasuke was thankful, however, for whatever reason which brought Kakashi to the Uchiha residence, his home last night. His left hand felt for something in his pouch, positioned behind his waist on his right. He distinctly felt two small, round objects at the bottom side of his pouch. Might as well get this over with. He needed to be at Ichiraku's by one o'clock for lunch with Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi and Sai. They always had lunch and dinner together when available. Mandatory order from Sakura. Venue-mandatory from Naruto though could be debatable with Sakura's mean right hook. Although for dinner, they usually went to each other's houses.

"Okay, do you know what's the most important thing to a shinobi?" He began.

"Following orders and the rules," Anzu answered confidently.

"Their friends and teammates, of course!" Kane's answer next.

"Not betray everyone in a power hungry quest?" Rui answered with a smirk.

Sasuke replaced the _chibi _Naruto in his mind with a _chibi_ version of Rui. _Chibi_-er, that is. It disturbed his rain of thoughts since he still could not forget-translation; ignore-the fact Rui was a mini version of himself. "This is the principle passed among Team Seven; '_In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash._' Both of you are right but incomplete. A good shinobi would try their hardest not to break the rules and be loyal to their comrades," he answered.

Two of his genin were looking at him in awe while another, Rui looked at him in both amusement and awe, as if saying; _"This coming from the shinobi who broke both."_ Sasuke squeezed _chibi_ Rui harder in his mind. Was he always like that back then? Yup, he was worst. Ugh... _That's it. I'm going to show you kids the hell we went through on our first training as Team Seven._

The last Uchiha took out two objects given by Kakashi last night. The objects jingled as he raised his arm until the object was at his eye level. The objects are bells. "Do you know that we, Naruto, Sakura and myself had to go through a test to even learn to be a shinobi after we graduated the Academy?" He could not help himself but smirk.

"...No?" Rui answered on his team's behalf for once, despite his gut twisting.

Sasuke's smirk got wider. "So here's the test. Get these bells from me or no lunch. Anything goes."

"No lunch?" Kane's face showed agony just like Naruto's a few years back.

"Anything goes? Taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu?" Anzu inquired.

"Yup."

"Interesting," commented Rui.

_Arrogant kid. Like me. Ugh_. "Count to ten while dispersing. At ten, the game begins," instructed Sasuke.

"One." The three genin dashed in their separate directions.

"Two." Sasuke noted the Inuzuka kid was the fastest among them.

"Three." He realized Rui was the most subtle.

"..." A rustling to the east. "..." A rustling to the west. "..." A rustling to the north. "..." A few twigs broke. "..." A few pebbles kicked. "..." Silence.

"...Ten."

So it began.

* * *

THE JOUNIN half hoped 'Naruto-_San_' would not make the same mistake as the original Naruto. Alas, it was the same as hoping Naruto would decrease his consumption of ramen. Or Sakura to not hit Naruto or Sai or Kakashi-he rarely got hit since he behaved better-at least once a day. Or Kakashi to not be an Icha Icha addict. The kid, Kane, practically trailed him and jumped on him like a starving Naruto after a whole day running through paprwork. It did not end well, for the kid though he was rather satisfied with himself. When could he find an excuse to hang a kid upside down on a tree? Exactly.

He was walking through the forest, when he detected a presence. Judging by the chakra signiture, he would pin point it was the girl, Anzu. If he was not mistaken, Kakashi used genjutsu on Sakura. The irony of Sakura being the most proficient on genjutsu these days. Should he risk another Sakura in the making? No, one Sakura was enough even though all the amusement entailed were taunting him. He stopped walking ahead, clearly giving his message of already knowing she was there. Anzu was a smart one, like Sakura. Replacing _chibi_ Rui with _chibi_ Naruto. The girl stood a few meters in front of him. She was wearing a soft purple knee length cheongsam-style dress, with slits up to her waist in the front, and sides, to allow movement. A black shorts were visible underneath, a bit lower than her top. The top was sleeveless, with the girl replacing it with a pair of tight, arm warmers which covered her knuckles like a glove except for her fingers. Her hair was held up in a ponytail, curls flowing down, forehead protector tied like a headband. She was already in her stand, her sandal digging through the ground.

Anzu stared at the tall man standing directly in front of her, her hands clenched in a fist and she was already in her stance. It disturbed her the fact that her new teacher was looking unperturbed, though it was expected seeing the fact that he was one of the second generation of Sannin, having taught by Orochimaru, one of the original Legendary Sannin. If he was any younger or she was any older, she would be his fan-with his handsome face, raven hair opposed to his pale skin-he was wearing a standard Jounin black shirt and pants, only, instead of those green flak vests she saw most Jounin wear, he was wearing a high collarded, sleeveless jacket, blue in colour. She was not one questioninghow he got away with it but then again, he was the Hokage's best man.

"You should keep your eye on your match, little girl." Sasuke whispered, as he bent his body to reach th girl's ears. Looks like his charms worked on the little girl too, only, he guessed not as much that Rui kid since when that brunette was around, his good looks were as good as invincible. A good thing too, because it was disturbing for a little girl to have a crush on him. Though Ino's daughter clearly got that from her mother.

"_Eep_!" She squeaked. The next thing she saw was a number of hand signs and she ended up only having her neck up above ground. "Sasuke-_Sensei_!" She whined. Who buries a girl in the ground? Her _sensei _apparently. She swear she would get those bells by the end of the day.

If he was Naruto or Kakashi, he would have cockled with evil laughter. He forgave Kakashi for burying him back then. Now, the only thing Kakashi did which he had not done yet was genjutsu. His final victim would arrived right about... Now. He dodged the kunai aimed at him on his left and a punch at his right. This kid had the skills.

Rui growled for having missed. He had no time to linger though, because his _sensei_ already threw a fist aimed at him, which he dodged. He knelt to ground and swiped his right leg over, intent on tripping him. He failed, which was expected, why he pushed himself up so quickly and kicked his left to his teacher, which, he had to stop with his hand as he successfully devoid the chance to dodge. Rui distanced himself then, and gave a smirk in return to his _sensei_'s amused one.

He always wondered what he was like as a child-since he barely acknowledged the yonger version of himsef much while he was a missing nin. Honestly, was he always _that _cocky? He performed a few hand signs and thus began the third main fighting style, genjutsu.

Rui found himself standing in the middle of a field of flowers. The flowers, he noticed were a mixture of jasmines and lavender, the clashing of purple, white gave a soft feeling in the air. The soft feeling then turned rougher, as the petals flew around him erratically, and, in front of him was a bleeding Neji, cradling an equally bloody Ten Ten. Their wounds were not severe enough, but, even so... His heart squeezed tightly at the sight, and he barely registered he was shuddering. _No. Not them. Not them! _

The kid's body was shuddering so much. His eyes showed immense despair. Sasuke was plagued by confusion. It was only a simple genjutsu. The things he planted was merely child's play so why did it had that much effect? Then he saw something on the verge of breaking in that kid's eyes. He knew, he lived through that, and just as he stepped closer to the boy, he saw hand signs he knew well, and a hoarse, "Kai!" Chocolate eyes met his, though, for some reason, the chocolate seemed a soft purple. The look he saw was replaced with a fire he had a nagging feeling he had seen somewhere before. "That's low, _sensei_," the sweet tone was familiar but before his mind could figure out from where, he saw Rui already forming hand signs.

"_Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu_!"

As soon as Rui uttered the jutsu, small fireballs shot in all directions, approaching him. His eyes widened for a moment, surprised a genin was able to perform the technique. Then again, he felt silly for being surprised in the first place. He used _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu _when he was that age and Kakashi was already a Jounin when he was around that age. He quickly formed a jutsu, _Bunshin no Jutsu_, making five clones of himself moving in every direction, dodging the flames. He noted, though well executed, the flames were not fast enough meaning Rui's chakra control was still flawed. Sasuke knew, after noting that, Rui was working very hard to control his flames so that it would hit him-rather, his four clones, charging at him. He was about to smirk when two flames went his way, which he dodged, just in time Clone Sasuke Three finished kneading enough chakra to release an orb of fire at Rui, which hit a log of wood. _Kawarimi no Jutsu_. Sasuke, the real one hopped off a tree and dispeled his clones. That was interesting. If Rui was indeed a mirror of himself, then he was sure the kid would find him again after formulating a new plan. Now, what should he do? He could always infuriate 'Naruto-_San_'.

He had to admit. It was kind of nice. All this stuff brings back memories.

* * *

UNDER a tree, where a blonde boy hung upside down, two figures with chocolate and brown hair stood. The male was trying hard to ignore the googley eyes given by his female companion, which he was failing so he gestured for the girl to follow his lead as he jumped onto the branch his idiot teammate was hung on. With a tug of the rope, his teammate was dragged up, and fell atop the same branch face first. The bonde was about to yell out of both pain and anger before a pale hand yanked him to sit straight and a smooth one clasping his mouth, complete with a glare. He gulped at that. The three of them was silent for a while.

"What should we do now?" Anzu was the first to break the silence, looking at both Rui and Kane.

"Isn't that obvious? We kick Sasuke-_sensei_'s butt!" Kane replied, enthusiastically.

"BaKane, we're dealing with one of the second generation of Sannin here. Jumping onto him blindly like you would end up with all of us hanging upside down," Rui sighed.

"It's Kane not BaKane, Rui-_teme_!" Kane retorted, only to be hit on the head by Anzu.

"What Rui-_kun_ said is true. Our strength is by far lower than _sensei_. The only way to get the bells is by working together and trick him somehow," said Anzu, a hand on her chin.

"There's no way I'm working with this guy!" Kane protested.

"Kane, work together or no lunch?"

"Alright, alright! I get it Anzu-_chan_," Kane pouted before asking sulkily, "You have any ideas how to trick Sasuke-_sensei_, Anzu-_chan_?"

"I haven't gotten to that part yet," sighed Anzu.

Hearing that, Rui genuinely smiled, which earned twin gasps from Anzu and Kane, in which the former swoon while the later exclaimed, "You know how to smile!" Rui ignored the comment and wagged his right index finger to gesture the two of them to lean closer.

"Lucky for you, I already know what to do," he leaned his head, his arms flung around Kane's and Anzu's shoulders-which Anzu blushed an squealed for a bit before clearing her throat-as he whispered. "So here's what we'll do..."

For the first time, both Anzu and Kane realized Rui was not that much of a cold-hearted boy/bastard only a bit reserved. He was also quite cheeky. After a while, the three genin broke apart, their eyes sparkling with excitement. Anzu was the first to hop down and hide herself. Rui helped Kane up and pushed, leaving him dangling again.

"At least be gentle, Rui-_teme_!" He muttered grudgingly to himslef, as Rui had already fled the scene.

Their time limit was one o' clock and judging by the Sun's position, they had two hours left.

Now, all they have to do is wait.

**TBC:** Frustrating, I know. Sorry!

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**A/N:** Thanks so much to **Kaori Tamashiro** and **1Dlove123** for following my story!

** KaoriTamashiro:** Thanks for your reviews! It really speeds up this update. I know, I'm easy to persuade and butter up. I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter. I personally like the part where Sasuke meets his 'team'. You?

So, I guess I should put in some notes.

For those who's wondering, BaKane is a word play between the word _baka_ and Kane's name, Animanga fans like myself would already get that and understand what _baka_ meant. The nickname Sasuke gave to Kane-'Naruto-_San_' translates into 'Naruto Three' instead of the honorific '_san_'.

The Jutsus used in this chapter is:

**Bunshin no Jutsu**-'Clone Technique'

**Kawarimi no Jutsu**-'Substitution Technique'

**Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu**-'Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique'

**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu-**'Fire Release:Great Fireball Technique'

Anyway, please review and follow my story, fellow readers! The more I get, the faster I write!


	3. Team Seven and Team Seven

**A/N: **Dang! Dang! Dang! Third chapter! How about we let Team Seven and Team Kakashi meet?

**Disclaimer:** Alas, what light through yonder window breaks? Tis' the fact I do not own Naruto nor the line.

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**CHAPTER 3:** Team Seven and Team Seven.

THE LAST remaining Uchiha had always thought that if there were someone he would hate to be similar to, it would be Hatake Kakashi. Sure, his former teacher had qualities he respected but often was downed under with his outer appearance. Annoying outer appearance. It was infuriating someone who always carry an Icha Icha book (he read it, so he knew just how right Sakura was) around even while fighting was also deemed as a genius and one of Konoha's elite shinobi. He wanted to be better than the famous Copy Nin and Sixth Hokage. He wanted to atone his sins. Damn, it was so hard to do all that seeing his dangling student still swinging back and forth. He tried hard to refrain the sadistic smirk threatened to form but failed. Miserably, as the smirk plastered on his face firmer than ever.

Sasuke was not surprised to find Anzu not at the place he buried her. She was smart and quite determined, if you minus the whole fawning over a Hyuga. Hyuga. When exactly did Hyuga adopted that Rui kid? Three years was a long time. When did that prodigy married the weapon mistress? If the two were married, he would have known. Not like Ino would keep the secret-she was the Queen of Rumours. He could see the tension between them though. Heck, he lived through that same tension for three years after he returned. Kakashi and Sakura might as well marked their forehead with words of undying love. Which explained why he gave Kakashi a very hard time subtlely until Naruto finally caught up and they proceeded being Sakura's knights in shiny armors-including Sai, surprisingly. It did not end well. They became a heck of a matchmaking team instead.

"_Sensei_! You're here to untie me?" Kane's voice sounded so happy.

"Nope," he answered toneless as he poked the boy a bit and left him swinging.

"I'm so asking Iruka-_sensei_ to assign us a nicer Jounin Instructor!"

"You should be grateful you got me instead of _my_ Jounin Instructor."

"Sasuke-_sensei_, how'm I suppose to agree when I'm hanging upside down?!" He huffed.

"Tough luck, _dobe_."

"_Dobe?!_"

"Hn. Force of habit." Insert a smirk, which turned into a sigh, seeing the Inuzuka kid finally managed to free himself after intense squirming. This kid would be a nuisance, he just knew it. Kiba was always one, whenever he went drinking with the males of Konoha Eleven.

Kane stared at his Jounin instructor for a while. No, stare was too mild. Glared. Using canine speed-he _was_ an Inuzuka even when he behave more like an Uzumaki-he charged towards Sasuke-_sensei_, throwing a punch, then another, and another, like unstopping bullets, his legs kicked at every opportunity. He growled, frustrated when none of his assault hit. Too engrossed on trying to land a hit, he barely dodged a punch aimed a him, which he countered with a high kick, only for his right leg to be capture by Sasuke-_sensei_, who lifted him up by said leg, left him dangling again. After hours of being dangled, he got over the usual disorientation and nausea. The reason, he was not able to free himself earlier? He sorta-kinda, slept when Iruka-_sensei_ was giving lessons on that particular topic. He swung his left leg, determined to at least, get back on his feet but apparently, the raven haired teacher of his disagree since he caught that let as well and shook him a bit.

"Sasuke-_sensei_!" He yelled in frustation.

"Hn."

What followed was a string of colourful vocabulary expressing the blonde's anger at him. Sasuke was past the idea of ignoring his 'team' after learning they were much like the Team Seven he was in. If he had to deal with another Naruto-one was not enough it seemed, he dreaded (along with Sakura and Kakashi) the prospect of Naruto having his own child-he might as well release all those pent up childhood annoyment. He never got to express his annoyment of Naruto with holding him upside down, they were of the same age and he was not Sakura. Though he practically beat Naruto up a lot in his days of being a missing nin, he was hell bent on the whole revenge and becoming powerful stuff to enjoy. He half mad at himself for not remembering how annoying Naruto could be sometimes-all the time but they were-cough-best friends-cough-now he could tolerate it better-because he was sure he would enjoy it more. Sasuke frowned as he noticed Kane was not giving up, he was facing him and his hands were throwing punches, which left Sasuke no choice but to let his grip slackened, which would make Kane fall hard head first and he swore he was not enjoying the squeak he heard.

_Swish!_ A shuriken breezed past him and he was just in time to dodge it flying behind his head. He abruptly let go of his hands and was greeted with the sight of Kane straightening himself up flawlessly. The boy grinned at his reaction, a hand in his hoodie pocket-which reminded Sasuke so much of Kiba though the grin was Naruto's-his eyes, typical of an Inuzuka, dog-like sparkled with mischief. A figure arrived beside the boy, Anzu. The shuriken was back to her fingers and similar to Kane, she was grining as she threw the shuriken at him, a kunai next, another shuriken followed. He realized the projectiles aimed at him was tied with strings. _Soshuriken no Jutsu_. He should know, he was the favoured user of the technique when he was a genin. He easily dodged the weapons aimed at him, also realizing Anzu had the best chakra control. So, _so_ Sakura.

It was amusing to see a twelve-year-old genin control three, make that six weapons using _Soshuriken no Jutsu_. A simple _Soshuriken no Jutsu_. Not even Naruto could handle that many, but of course, Naruto liked to beat people up with his _Rasengan_ more. He could dodge them well, even countered it. He was not Jounin, scratch that, he was not Orochimaru's apprentice for nothing. What he did not count was seing Kane performing hand signs, making three clones of himself and charged at him. The boy's speed was impressive, for a genin and he was very wary of the canine teeth he knew Kiba had. He realized these two had all this planned. Unfortunately, he realized it when the real Kiba managed to make the bells jingle and his mild cursing at his failure of getting them. Sasuke took a huge leap and landed on a tree behind, him, distancing himself and his two students.

"I'm guessing Rui is in on this too?" He asked coolly.

"_Teme_ thinks he's good enough to get the bells himself! That cocky _chibi_," answered Kane with a scowl. He received a hit on his head for that. "Anzu-_chan_~"

"Don't talk about Rui-_kun_ like that! I'm sure he has his reasons."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at that. He was not surprised at all. That Rui was supposed to be him.

"Yeah, yeah. Now let's just get those bells, Anzu-_chan_," Kane grinned.

"Let's," followed by a mischievous smile. Both of them charged at him, with both making three clones of themselves each. They dove straight towards Sasuke, engrossed in a fist fight.

Even though it was very hard to admit, the two of them worked great together. He had to actually put his focus in fending the two kids' attacks, with Kane's speed and Anzu's calculated reach for the bells. He sighed before he performed a substitution jutsu to create distance. He really, really thought he would not be needing that. Though the frustrated look Anzu and Kane gave at hitting a log was satisfying. He was still a sadistic bastard, he sighed at that fact. It would be a miracle if he could shake off all the negativity during his rogue days easily. It did not take long before more projectiles went his way. Kane had no aim, but he knew it was a mere distraction because they were already engaged in a one on one while Anzu aimed kunais and shurikens at him. Just how much weapon did that girl carry around? Sasuke spared a glance at the sky. There were still forty minutes until the time limit. He sighed. Which was why he belatedly realize Anzu was done making handseals. Soon enough, the surrounding area was covered by a coat of mist. _Kirigakure no Jutsu? Isn't this a specialty for Kirigakure nins?_

"My grandmother was a Kirigakure nin, _sensei_." He heard Anzu said in three directions. He should have read those files instead of lashing out at the training grounds before jumping straight into bed. As the mist thickens, Anzu and Kane retreated, which confuses him before he heard a voice behind him.

Tiger. Boar. Ox. Dog. "_Bunshin no Jutsu_!" Six clones of himself lunged towards Sasuke in circular position, caging him in. Rui gave his teacher no chance to retaliate as he-his six clones, details, details-made another set of handseals. "_Suiton: Teppodama_!"

Okay, he was not expecting that, hence why he barely dodged six of medium sized water balls coming at him, which missed since he used the _Kawarimi no Jutsu_ just in time but he got wet nonetheless by another clone who delivered another water ball. It was not powerful enough to hurt him, but he belatedly realize another clone had managed to get both bells. Call it stubborness but he grabbed the boy, wrapping an arm around Rui's clone's chest, but he tosed the balls to the real Rui, who passed one to Anzu and Kane, holding the bell together, the remaining, he jiggled. Annoyed, Sasuke instinctively squeezed the clone in his arm a bit harder, earning a squeak. Perturbed, he turned to see the clone disappeared in a puff and as he shot his sights on the real Rui, he saw the boy contemplating the data he received from the clone, looked at him with wide eyes, blushed-wait, blushed?-and shield his face with his arm.

"_Naa, _how do you like us now Sasuke-_sensei_?" Kane's cheerful voice caught his attention.

"Less." He replied spitefully. Naruto and him were tied on surpassing Kakashi, to _think_ he lost to a group of genin...

"Now that we passed, it's your call to treat us for lunch!" Anzu squealed happily.

"Who said anything about treating you kids to lunch?" He crossed his arms and eyed them warningly.

"Bu-But _sensei_, Irie-_chan_ and her team got treated by their Jounin Instructor after their first training," she whined, giving Sasuke _the_ _look_, which made his eye twitched.

"I thought Irie-_chan_ forced their teacher to treat them—ow!" Kane winced as Anzu stepped on his foot.

Sasuke was about to thank the kid-mentally-but he was subjected to a round of battle between his stubborness and a pair of watery blue eyes, quivering, pouting lips-overall, a heck of a puppy dog face. "Fine," he agreed grudgingly. First Sakura, then Naruto, now Anzu? He cursed the person who invented that look.

"_Yosh_! Let's go to Yakiniku Q!" Anzu exclaimed happily.

"Oh, no. We're having lunch at Ichiraku's," Sasuke interjected, leading the way.

"Ichiraku?! Yeah! C'mon, let's go Anzu-_chan_, Rui-_teme_!" Kane whisked past him, dragging both Anzu and Rui, who knew it was pointless to break free from Kane's grasp.

Following them from behind, Sasuke smirked. This ought to be good. He wondered how his team would react to these bunch of genins.

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"_Jii-san_! Please give me a bowl of ramen!" Naruto whined as he sat on the stool he had frequented for years at Ichiraku Ramen.

"I'm really sorry, Naruto. That dark haired friend of yours told me to give you anything but ramen," said the old man, owner of the ramen store.

"But I'm the Hokage!"

"Yes, but you said it yourself, in here, you're the same 'ol Naruto."

"Sakura-_chan_~" He turned to look at his friend, sitting on the left.

Sakura slurped her ramen wholeheartedly and turned to Naruto with a "Hm?"

"You did that on purpose!"

"Did what?" Sakura tilted her head oh-so-innocently.

"Kakashi-_sensei_!"

"_Maa,_ I really want to help, Naruto, but Sakura got Icha Icha Tactics," Kakashi said with a heavy sigh.

"Why, Sakura-_chan_?" Naruto asked, exasperated.

"Sasuke-_kun_ said he wouldn't let me continue my research on the Sharingan if I didn't help him," answered the pink haired woman with a pout.

"_Teme,_ I hate you!" He shouted angrily as he pulled on his blonde spikes.

"I don't exactly want you to like me either, _dobe_."

Naruto turned his head around at that familiar voice. There he was, standing at the entrance of Ichiraku Ramen, the master tormentor, the cruelest, most cold-hearted, vengeful bastard of a best friend ever existed. He had the gall to sport a smirk at his-the Rokudaime Hokage-misery in which he was the cause. He got up and aimed a punch at Sasuke, only to stop seeing three kids stepped inside. He glared at the smirking Uchiha. _Bastard_.

"Naruto-_nii,_ you're here!" Kane exclaimed.

"Wha—Kane, you're on Sasuke-_teme_'s team?" Considering these two were ramen holics, it was not a surprise they knew each other, besides the fact Kane was Konohamaru's junior and Kiba's cousin.

"Yeah! Naruto-_nii_, can't you be our instructor instead? He's horrible!"

"He is, isn't he." Naruto nodded in agreement. "He even banned me from eating ramen!"

"EH?! That's worse than hanging me upside down!"

"You bet-What?!"

Sasuke ignored the two loud blondes and took a seat next to the empty one beside Sakura's, knowing full well it belonged to Naruto. He was not expecting Rui to take a seat next to him since the mysterious 'blush' incident earlier. Now that he thought about it, he might as well ask the kid right away.

"Rui-_kun_, you're on Sasuke-_kun_'s team too?" Sakura interrupted. There goes his chance.

"Yes. Nice to see you, Haruno-_san_," the boy greeted, bowing slightly.

"Just call me Sakura, Rui-_kun_. You don't have to be so proper like your dad."

"Okay. Nice to see you, Sakura-_san_." Sakura smiled at that.

"Sakura, you know this kid?" Sasuke interrupted.

"Yeah. He _is_ Neji's adopted son."

"Rui-_kun_, what would you like to eat?" Anzu asked as she took a seat next to Rui and looked at him adoringly.

"Ah! Rui-_teme_! How sneaky! I want to have a seat next to Anzu-_chan_!" Kane walked pass Naruto and stood directly behind Rui.

"Just take the next seat BaKane. It's just so like you to make a big deal out of nothing," Rui sighed.

"What did you say, _teme_?!"

Just as the two started a glaring contest, Anzu delivered a fatal blow on Kane's head. "Just take a seat and order, Kane! Right, Rui-_kun_?"

Needless to say, at the sight of the three genin, Kakashi almost dropped his Icha Icha Violence, Sakura openly staring, Naruto gaped and Sai-well, Sai got assigned on a short mission an hour ago. Tch. Sasuke was kind of looking forward to see the artist's reaction. Naruto, always the most dramatic, grabbed him by his arm and then formed a small circle at Kakashi's seat. The original Team Seven was looking very much like they were conspiring something.

"This is creepy. Did we get caught up in a time jutsu or something?" Naruto asked.

"Nope or I'd kill you since you must be the one at fault," answered Sakura.

"These kids reminds me of you guys when you were genins. Ah, good times..." Kakashi commented.

Sakura and Naruto snorted at that. "Good because at that time you could get away with being sadistic towards us," Sakura said. Followed with a "Yeah!" from Naruto.

"Sakura, do you remember the time you used to respect me as a teacher?"

"Kakashi-_sensei_, do you remember the night we had Obito and Rin?" Obito and Rin, their son and daughter-currently staying with Sakura's mother.

"Of course I do. Why...?" Kakashi replied carefully hearing Sakura calling him _sensei_ after so many years.

"You won't be having another one of those if I started to see you as my _old_ teacher."

"Oh," he answered sulkily.

"Gah! Stop with the mental images you two!" Naruto squeaked, closing his ears with his hands.

"Give Kakashi some credit. His teaching methods are interesting," Sasuke said, earning two bewildered looks from Sakura and Naruto.

"What did you do to those kids?" Kakashi asked conspiratively.

"Everything you did on our first bell test."

"Your favourites?"

"Hanging Kane upside down and burying Anzu."

The two shared a smirk-technically, a smirk and an eye crease. Naruto leaned closer to Sakura to whisper, "Should we be worried?" Sakura shrugged."Maybe."

"So, who's who?" Kakashi asked Sasuke.

"Well, obviously, Kane's a clone of Naruto, Anzu's mini Sakura and Rui's kinda like me when I was little."

Kakashi nodded as he scanned the three genins. He could not deny that Kane kid was Naruto reincarnate. He might not wear orange clothes but his demeanor was obviously Naruto's. He was not that sure about Anzu being Sakura. A child version of Sakura perhaps and Rui... There was something about that boy which did not click. His apprehension of his former student's students-_Kami_, he felt old-stopped when a blonde girl jumped into the scene and hugged the supposed mini version of the last Uchiha.

"Rui-_kun_~"

_Glomp!_ Rui choked as he felt a pair of arms hugging him from behind. He recognized the scent of flowers coming from the girl. "Hi, Irie," he replied in a tired tone.

"Irie-_chan_! Let go of Rui-_kun_!" Anzu protested, pulling her blonde best friend.

"Let go of me, Curly! You had Rui-_kun_ for the whole day!" Scolded the blonde girl called Irie.

"Stop calling me Curly, Cranky!" Rui sighed.

Sakura could not help but smile at the sight. Sasuke gave her a gentle shove on her shoulder. "Reminds you of a certain annoying pink haired girl I know, huh."

"The same girl who got over you after you went berserk."

"Ouch. You've been spending too much time with Kakashi, Sakura."

"He _is_ my husband."

"Ahem. Jealous husband here," Kakashi muttered behind his book. Sakura giggled before yanking the book down and gave Kakashi a small peck through his mask.

Sasuke smirked at the couple before hearing his name being called from a table. Seated there was Konoha Eleven's one and only genius, Nara Shikamaru with two genin? Naruto had somehow gotten there and was about to eat one of the boy's ramen. Naruto. Ramen. Not under his watch. He made his way there menacingly and refrained himself from smirking at the blonde's pale face. He wasted no time retrieving the bowl of ramen for the boy. "Take a sip of any ramen and I'll tell Hinata the dirts on you," he said in a very chilly tone. Naruto quieted since he knew if there was anyone on this planet who knew everything about him, it would be Sasuke and Sakura. Mostly Sasuke considering not everything could be shared with a woman.

"What did you do?" Shikamaru asked, downing a cup of sake after his team went to their female teammate's side. He normally would not trouble himself by getting himself drunk so early but dealing with a genin team could be very troublseome, especially with a mini version of Ino, Yamanaka Irie.

"_He_ signed me up as a Substitute Jounin Instructor," answered Sasuke, as Naruto was busy cursing him and mumbling and sulking over his punishment.

"You deserve that Naruto. Who'd you get?"

"Team Seven."

"Troublesome."

"Hn." And Sasuke dodged a shuriken coming right at him. He glared at Anzu, who he knew the owner of the shuriken as he had to dodge the shuriken again as it returned to her grasp.

"Kane started it! He was saying something about me being uncute fighting Irie!" Anzu cried in defence, explaining a huge swelling on Kane's head.

"I was just being honest!"

"_Baka_," Rui mumbled, causing the blonde to spread his arms as he huffed in frustration, causing a man carrying a glass of water to slip and accidently spilled his drink onto an unsuspecting customer just entering Ichiraku Ramen.

Which happened to be Hyuga Neji, with Ten Ten following him from behind-not wet. The commotion died down as everyone followed Neji's eyes as he looked at his wet top. Then, to a standing Rui, walking over to his adopted father. "_Otou-san_, are you alright?" Rui asked, looking like he might cry.

Sasuke, Kakashi, Naruto and Shikamaru each thought it was a crime for a boy to be _that_ cute, seeing everyone else blushed-even Kane-at the look on his face. The boy even managed to get a nosebleed from Kane, squeals from Irie and Anzu at his relieved, smiling with happiness face as Neji patted his head while saying, "I'm alright. I'll just go take care of this."

As soon as Neji disappeared to the bathroom with Ten Ten who got a towel from the counter to help him, Rui turned towards Kane, his right hand crackling his left, then vice versa. He glared at the blonde, dark miasmas surrounding him. "Kane..."

It was decided. Kane liked the sound of BaKane better than that, before everything went black for him. Meanwhile, as Kakashi witnessed the scene, he nodded to himself. Now, that boy made an inredibly refreshing version of Team Seven. Two Sakuras. A child Sakura and an adult Sakura with a hint of Sasuke.

**TBC**

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**A/N:** Thanks to **Hoytti **and **Itselly** for also following my story and first ever series. I really appreciate it. Do tell me what you think about this chapter, suggestions and what you'd like to see, predictions, etc...

So... Note time! Or, Jutsu list time! There's only two new additions;

**Suiton: Teppodama**- 'Water Release: Gunshot'

**Kirigakure no Jutsu**- 'Hiding in Mist Technique'

Please review everyone! I'm dying to know what people think of my first Naruto fanfic.


	4. GS! GK! Sasuke-sensei's Date!

**A/N:** Fourth chapter up! I just love the episode where Team Seven went out of their way to look at what's under Kakashi's mask (which reminds me-I don't remember ever seeing an unmasked Kakashi-I wanna see unmasked Kakashi!).So here's a twist (sorta) and tribute (kinda) to that episode!

**Disclaimer:** If you heard Naruto belonged to me, you heard wrong. I do claim on the idea and plots and stuff of this fanfic.

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**CHAPTER 4: **Gotta See! Gotta Know! Sasuke-_sensei's_ Date!

SERIOUSLY. HE knew he was the only one without a significant other here-who was normal compared to Rock Lee and Sai-but do they have to do this to him? Currently, he was at Sakura and Kakashi's place for their routine dinner. The children, namely Sakura's five-year-old Obito and three-year-old Rin were playing fireworks outside with Ino's and Shino's kids. Normally the dinner would only be among members of Team Kakashi, which was already suspiscious the minute Ino and Genma-maried-came, along with Shikamaru and Temari-dating, Kiba and Hanabi-engaged, Shino and his wife-a civillian, Chouji and his girlfriend-a Sand nin, friend of Temari. There were two single, unknown women cooking in the kitchen with Sakura, Ino, Hanabi, Haruna-Shino's wife, Saeko-Chouji's girlfriend, Hinata and Temari. Two because there were two single men, Rock Lee and him, Uchiha Sasuke. He knew instantly his friends were playing a matchmaking game. Obvious really, seeing how Ino worked hard to make sure one of the woman appealed to him as soon as she set foot in the house Sakura and Kakashi bought three months after their wedding.

"Sorry we're late! Oi, Sasuke, why're you brooding?" Ten Ten's voice sounded at the front door, with Neji silently entering and standing beside her.

"Ask. Ino," he answered.

"One of her matchmaking schemes?"

"Hn."

"Who's involved?"

"Just me and Rock Lee."

"Sai?"

Sasuke grunted. Somehow, Sai had managed to escape the adersary and was now showing the children tricks with his Ink Jutsu.

"I take it as he's free. Well, I'd better go and see what the ladies are up to," Ten Ten said finally, as she made her way to the kitchen from the living room.

Neji took a step forward and finally uncovered an awkward looking Rui, holding on his white sleeve. Sasuke could not help but wonder how someone who looked so adorable could be merciless at the same time as he recounted the fateful event at Ichiraku Ramen-which ended with Kane needing medical attention for his bruises from Sakura. Neji nodded his head in acknowledgement of Sasuke, the Uchiha doing the same. The two then took a seat opposite of the one Sasuke was seated in the living room.

The two men was happy being in their own comfortable silence, with Shikamaru's grunts as he played chess against Kakashi, Genma cheerfully annoying Kakashi, Shino happily chatting with Chouji, the loud noises outside belonging to Naruto, Rock Lee, Kiba and occasional responses from Sai and Yamato. Which left Rui utterly feeling out of place. Noticing his discomfort, Neji turned at him. "Why don't you go outside and play with the kids."

"Ah... Um. Okay," he replied, looking relieved, nodded at Sasuke and made his way out.

"So... He's your son now?" Sasuke asked the Byakugan user.

"Hn. Rui's your student, right?"

"Yeah. How exactly the two of you meet?"

"Rui and I? Ten Ten and I found him on our way home from a mission in Kumogakure. He was barely alive. So fragile," Neji said, his eyebrow frowning. "But he survived the journey back, surprisingly."

"Really? He's a talented genin, I can tell you that."

"I know." Sasuke could sense the pride in the normally equally indifferent Hyuga. "He's a nice kid too. Kind, sensible and adorable."

"Sasuke, you'd better scoot. Since Rui came into the picture, Neji's all mushy," Ten Ten warned as she stuck her head out over the counter. Sasuke found that hard to believe but judging by how Neji crossed his arms, he recognized the form as sulking. He should know, he and Neji were quite alike. He was dumbfounded at that.

"_Ano_... Sasuke-_san_. Can I sit next to you?" A woman approched Sasuke, she was a girl in her early twenties, sporting a long, flowing black hair and brown eyes. Sasuke looked over his back and gave a glare to Ino, the blonde woman quickly winked before turning her back to him.

Tonight would be a long night.

Ino huffed in annoyment. Here she was, trying to be a great friend, but Sasuke just had to make her look bad. This girl she invited was a beauty and has a nice disposition. She would look good with Sasuke and the Uchiha lad would be able to restore his clan once and for all. So how come she was the only one who agreed to the plan? Even Sakura was not that excited about this little matchmaking. Something about; _"Somehow, I think Sasuke-kun's soul mate's near but not meant to show herself yet and it's not her." _Yeah, right! If it was not because her and Sakura's boys' involvement, that Forehead would never end up with Kakashi. Back to business. _Kami, pay attention to her, Sasuke!_

Right now, the Konoha Eleven and their families were all gathered in the living room, a board game at the center. It was the newest game brought by the child among them-who else? Naruto. The players were; Naruto, Kakashi-humoring his children-Kiba, Shikamaru, Obito, Rin, Ino's girls; Fuu, Misa and Umi, Shino's boys; Shun and Hiro, and Rui. It was a children's version of truth and dare, instead of spinning a bottle, they roll two six sides dices. Naruto chose dare and had to do a chicken dance-oh, the poor image of a Hokage-Kakashi chose truth and confessed his favourite flower is cherry blossoms, Kiba chose dare, he had to do an imitation of anyone among the players-he chose Naruto and nailed it-Shikamaru escaped both, muttering troublesome-he was not able to escape Fuu's pleading of joining-Obito, Misa, Shun and Hiro each chose dare, which varies from standing on one leg for thirty minutes to doing backflips so now was little Umi and Rin's turns. Umi was closest to Sasuke, which explained why the black haired woman, Akane was helping the three-year-old play.

"Now, you toss it. There you go," said Akane, seeing the three years old brunette toss the dices. She smiled sweetly at the little girl's excitement, while pasing a glance at the reknowned Uchiha Sasuke. To her dismay, the male she was aiming for did not even spare a sight at her, only at the little girl she took the liberty of sitting beside. The little girl was squealing excitedly seeing a card popped at the center of the board game, took the card and ran off to sit on the handsome Uchiha's lap. Akane made a face-mentally-at the sight. Here she was, dressed up in a pretty white dress, her black hair cascading her back like silk and she was thoroughly ignored.

"Who do you not like here?" Sasuke read the card to Umi.

"_Obaa-chan_!" Umi giggled as she pointed a small finger at Akane. Akane's lips twitched as the whole room was stilled in an awkward silence.

"Ah—Rin-_chan_! That's not how you toss the dices," Rui's voice broke the awkwardness and everyone was rather glad for it.

Sasuke refrained a smirk as Umi pointed a finger at the woman Ino fixed for him. He patted the girl's head as a reward only the two of them understood. His eyes then fell on Rui, as he gathered Rin into his lap, held the girl's left hand with his and placing the dices. Soon, he made a swinging motion and instructed Rin to open her hand at their second swing. The squeals Rin made formed a small smile on the boy's face. Sasuke did not realize he was smiling at that, until he heard Akane asked if he could accompany her for a walk in Sakura's garden. He scowled, ready to decline until he saw Ino shooting him a warning look. He sighed. No wonder Shikamaru always complained about that woman. He wondered how Genma could deal with her all these years. He decided the man must have the patience of a saint-scratch that. Ino must be really great in bed.

Ino grinned as she saw Sasuke and Akane walked out to the backyard garden.

* * *

LATE. TWO people on his team were late. Sure, Kane he understood, which was why it was weird since Kane was already there, at their meeting place, a red bridge crossing over the river. The people who were late were the normally punctual Anzu and their teacher, Sasuke. He was a patient boy, really, but Kane was just plain annoying. The blonde idiot had been walking on the bridge's railings over and over, his hands behind his head and asking, "Do you see them?" repeatedly until Rui had to stiffle the urge to push the annoying _baka_ into the river. He was also in need of sleep after spending a long time at the Hatake residence. The 'dinner' ended way past midnight with Ten Ten having her drink spiked by Ino-which left him and Neji to ensure she arrived home safely. She was, in his opinion, his cool adopted mother.

"Rui! There's Anzu-_chan_!" Kane exclaimed ecstatically as he jumped off the railing and nudged him by his elbow.

"I can see that, BaKane," he muttered.

Anzu was running towards them, her purple top and ponytail billowing in the wind. Rui had to stop herself from bonking Kane on the head for drooling at the sight of Anzu. Sure, Anzu was cute but there was no need for the BaKane to be all weird about it. He settled with rolling his eyes instead. As soon as Anzu settled in front of both of them, Rui pushed himself up and sat on the railings, noticing, by Anzu's hard breathing, bright eyes and flushed face, she had something to tell.

"You-huff-won't believe-huff-what I heard from Ino-_san_," she said, panting, her body bent, hands settled on her knees to keep her from slumping to the ground.

"What? What?" Kane asked, very curious. Rui had a very strong feeling staying would get him involved in something troublesome when he would rather sleep.

"When I was walking by Yamanaka flower shop, I saw Sasuke-_sensei_ buying flowers! Red roses! He even told me training is canceled today! Do you know what this means?" Anzu started excitedly, her hands clenched in front of her out of her high spiritedness.

"Sasuke-_sensei_ have a date!" Kane answered in utter diselief. "_Nee_, let's follow him!"

Rui closed his eyes, one hand rubbing his temple gently another smacking Kane behind head. He relished the yelp of pain the boy gave. "Don't you know the meaning of privacy?"

"Bu-But _teme_! This is a very rare thing! We've known _sensei_ for two months already and he never go out with anyone! Aren't you curious?"

"No. I want to go home and sleep." He jumped off the railing but before he could walk another step, a dainty hand grabbed the sleeves of hi shirt. He turned and saw a sight which made him twitch uncomfortably. Anzu's _look_.

"Rui-_kun_, this might be our chance to find out _sensei_'s weakness! Don't you know that a date always brings out something from somebody?"

"I'm guessing you got that from a magazine somewhere," he received a sheepish smile. Rui sighed as he loosened Anzu's grip and made is walk home. "Not interested."

Kane pouted at that. That _teme _is no fun. He pondered on all the things he knew about Rui in the past three years. Three years was not really a long time but long enough if you spent it regularly with that person. Luckily for Kane, he had spent the last three years in the academy following Rui around to engage in a fight. A smile formed on his face, rather like a dog after finishing marking its territory. He put his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. "Anzu-_chan_, where's Sasuke-_sensei_ going for his date?"

"Hmm... Ino-_san_ said they were going for a walk in the park and then to that new cafe... Buttercup Cafe, I think."

_Perfect_. He remembered Rui looking through the windows of that cafe the last time he dragged the boy to accompany him to Ichiraku. His smile had a more sinister edge. "Buttercup Cafe huh~ I think I heard people saying the food there is deliscious and cheap~"

Rui paused from his walk. His ears perked.

Kane grinned. "I also heard their specialty is desserts." His rival visibly twitch at that. "I think its the only place who sells a variety of carrot themed desserts." He saw Rui turned to look at him. "_Nee_, Anzu-_chan,_ don't they make the rare carrot cake with carrot cream cheese filling and carrot cookies?"

"Yeah, they called it the Carrot Cake Deluxe," Anzu confirmed, still not understanding the situation. She knew Kane liked sweets but he liked the sugary candies and ice-creams stuff not desserts.

"Just this once," Rui muttered obstinately, as he stood beside him. Kane inwardly grinned in triumph at the reluctant Rui. He hooked a hand on Rui's arm and Anzu's as he led them charge towrds their target.

* * *

IT WAS decided. Sasuke-_sensei_ is very un-romantic! Anzu made a face looking at the couple walking through the park. The woman walking next to him was very beautiful, dressed in a pink dress ending just below her knees, her black hair tied in a loose ponytail. She was a sweetheart so how could that teacher of hers ignore the woman's advances?! Currently, Anzu and Kane were hiding behind a flower hedge. She was disappointed Rui decided to hide elsewhere and left her with Kane. _Ah! They're on the move!_ Anzu quickly laced chakra on her feet and trailed behind the couple, Kane and Rui instantly beside her, hot on their trails. Over and over, they ended up hiding behind various objects from lamp posts to trees and even trash bins. The couple, Sasuke and the unknown woman stopped at a store selling sewing supplies on their way to the cafe. Anzu shared a look at her teammates before she and Kane performed _Henge no Jutsu_, Anzu took the appearance of a brown haired boy while Kane a blonde girl with two ponytails. The two entered the store without waiting for Rui, obviously intent on spying their teacher's date.

The one left behind sighed as he scratched his cheek. _To even use henge... These two seriously had nothing to do. _He performed a handsign and reemerged from a poof of smoke as a girl. It was an impromptu agreement between them of sorts. To gender-bend when using _Henge no Jutsu_. Which was why Rui entered the store as a girl with long, purple hair and purple-lavender eyes. He sighed again as he spotted Kane and Anzu behaving not so discreetly near the beads section, watching Sasuke-_sensei_ standing at the wools section. Kane he understood, but Anzu? He just wanted Sasuke-_sensei_ to hurry up and go to that cafe so he could get his hands on that cake then go home for a nice, well deserved sleep. His eyes caught the arts and craft section. Looking to the left and right, he moved towards that section. A fluffy teddy bear was begging for his touch. He was about to, when a voice made him flinch and paled.

"I didn't know you liked bears, _Rui-kun_," greeted Sasuke, thoroughly amused. "How about we struck a deal? You tell me what you guys are up to and I'll spare punishment for you."

A vein popped on Rui's head. Okay, maybe he got annoyed by Kane sometimes-all the time-and Anzu made him feel weird with her adoration and this whole idea was a waste of his prescious nap time but he would be trash if he ratted out on his teammates and his cough-friends-cough. He turned towards his teacher, hands linked behind his back and tilted his head cutely, his big, purple eyes shining. "_Ojii-san_, do I know you?" He asked innocently in a sweet voice. His voice was already high pitched for boys so it worked well.

Kane and Anzu blushed seeing Rui's expression. Kane was trying hard not to have a nosebleed, Anzu to stop squealing. For a moment there, they were scared they might be busted and thoroughly punished but now... Seriously, it was a crime for a boy to be that cute!

"Sasuke-_san_, I'm done buying materials for a muffler to give my niece so we can go to the cafe now," Akane interruped, touching Sasuke's arm.

"...Hn."

As soon as Sasuke and Akane left the store, Kane and Anzu quickly went over to Rui's side. They flinched at the cold stare Rui directed at them, her-eh-his hands on his hips but stared at him nonetheless. They were absorbed in his _Henge no Jutsu_, staring at his female appearance, her bangs were like those he always had but the long hair which reached her back simply suited him more than his normal reddish-chocolate hair and his purple-lavender eyes... He should be born with those.

"I'm done. I'm heading home, take a bath and sleep," he said with finality which served as cold water splashed on his teammates.

Anzu looked at Kane. "Do something, Kane!" Kane whispered back, "I know! I'll do something!"

Kane ran after Rui, who already dispelled his jutsu. "Rui! I'll treat you to whatever you want to eat at the cafe!" He blurted, only to regret it seeing the hungry look in Rui's eyes. His poor wallet...

* * *

AS A teacher, Sasuke had a lot of work to do. As a man, he needed to get away from here soon. Currently, he had just taken a seat at the newly established, girly cafe; Buttercup Cafe. He had nothing against the cafe, even if it looked weird for an ex-international criminal sitting in a cafe called 'buttercup'. Really, nothing against the cafe. The food sold were nice, and the coffee was also deliscious. What he could not stand any longer was the woman Ino practically gave his leash to. Why he listened to Ino? He, kind of, owed a favor from the busty blonde. He got drunk at Kakashi's bachelor party-courtesy of Naruto-and since he could not avoid to be hungover at Sakura's wedding of all people, he turned to Ino for medical attention (since Tsunade would reprimand him-Naruto was the victim for going to her and it's _Sakura's wedding_). Good news was, after this, he owed nothing to Ino-poor Shikamaru.

The woman-Akane, was it?-was beautiful, he would say that, but only that. Beautiful. She was calculating, persuasive and a magnificent actor. Other people might not see it, but this woman was a bitch. She hated children-the sweet little Rin with pink hair and onyx eyes, cute Umi with brown hair and blue eyes-she played Ino like a puppet, made snide comments about how she never met a kunoichi who could sew for their loved ones like her, a civillian and kept on clinging to him like a leech. That was why, he really hoped Rui would just tell him what they were up to-he would have a reason to escape Akane-punishing his students. It was honourable of the kid but did he had to choose this time? If he exposed them himself, he had to admit he was not being a good teacher. Even a first year student at the Academy could see them trailing him for crying out loud. Though he was rather stunned to see how suitable the jutsu was on Rui-no, he was not a pedophile or gay!-and a vein popped at the reminder of the girl-err-boy calling him '_Ojii-san_'. Now he knew how Kakashi felt.

"Sasuke-_san_, I'm really happy to spend time with you."

"Hn." Distraction... He peered at the seat two tables in front of him.

"I hope we could do this again soon." She said, sporting a blush.

"Hn." _Come on. Kane, goof off when I need you!_ His sudents were seated at the seat.

"I... Really... Like..."

"_Kyaa!_"

_Thank Kami!_ He sprung from his seat. "That sounds like my student. Excuse me," he said coolly. Whatever was happening, he thanked the heavens. Only, when he reached the table, the sight which met his eyes stroke him with shock. Rui was unconscious on the table, Anzu looking panicked and was about to cry.

_What on earth happened and where's Kane?!_

**TBC**

* * *

**A/N:** Ahaha... *sweat dropped* Sorry for the suspense. I couldn't help it... Yea, it's not exactly the same as the episode with the same title (except for the last part) but I need it to make the next chapter.

So, there's only one jutsu involved here; **Henge no Jutsu**-'Transformation Technique'.

Yeah, I'm guessing you're wondering where's the Shoujo/Romance goody-ness but I'm getting there!

...In about ten chapters to come or something...

Please, please, please, Review. *puts on display Sasuke making a sad puppy face*

Sasuke: Chidori!

Me: Kyaaaaaaaaaa!

* * *

**A/N** (23/3): Okay, for those who's following my story, I sincerely apologize. I won't be able to post another chapter in the same fashion as before (no more than a week). I need to prepare some samples of my writing for college admission. I'll write the next chapter in between so I hope you'll stick with me.

I will not abandon this fic-I mean, I did a lot of research to develop my OCs and this alternate Naruto universe and I'll probably go bankai (wait, that's Bleach!) ahem, go Chidori if that happens.

Anyhow, for new readers, some reviews and follows or favs'll make me squeeze (more) time to write the next chapter faster.

All in all, here's some Sasuke, Kakashi, Naruto, Neji, Sai and Minato shaped cookies for your delight.

P/S: Don't mention the cookies to their 'face claims' or I'll probably suffer more than Chidori.


	5. Henge no Jutsu

**A/N:** Chapte five, here it comes! A revelation~ Oo~ Du! Du! Du~m!

**Disclaimer:** Wonder if a lifetime supply of cookies could let me own Naruto...?

* * *

**CHAPTER 5:** _Henge no Jutsu_

IT JUST turned official. Today was the worst day in his twenty-four years-until July-of living. First, Ino set up, no, _forced_ him to go on a date with an unnown woman. No, meeting her last night did not come out as _knowing_. It was worse that the woman was a totally, annoying, calculating woman. Yes, he was far from being the nicest guy ever, given his records but he really could not stand seeing the woman practically managed to _persuade_ Ino into setting up this date. Ino was manipulative and nosy but hey, she was a friend. He vowed to atone the things he did to his friends, one of them was protecting them. Especially from a conniving woman who so much insulted his _kunoichi_ friends. But, no. That was only part of it. What made the day worst was the fact that now, in his vision, a boy was unconscious, his upper body dropped onto the cafe table. This boy was not just a boy on the sidewalks, he was his student. Which reminded him, how long should he keep Naruto ramen free? Another month would do the trick. What was he thinking? His student was unconscious in front of him!

He did the first thing any sane human would do, lifted the boy's body and let him lean onto the chair instead of face planted on a table. Sasuke noticed Rui looked like he was asleep, but his chakra was fluctuating irregularly, which got him worried. He activated his Sharingan then, ignoring the stare he was receiving from his female student. Perhaps it was not as convenient as the all seeing Byakugan or the mighty Rinnegan, it was still able to clearly see the chakra path of a person. What he did not expect to see was, how the boy's chakra path was closing in, one by one, somehow. He shot his head up and started to scan the area. There was a faint, thread like chakra, connecting to Rui's fingers but before he could trace it to its source, it was gone. He growled in frustration before he lifted the boy in his arms.

"Eh? Sasuke-_sensei_? What're you doing-What's wrong with Rui-_teme_?!" Kane asked, loudly, that he had no choice but glare.

"He's unconscious while you were so conveniently not here. Now, stop staring and go get Neji. Tell him to meet me at my place," he instructed.

"Y-Yes!" The blonde answered, springing into action with not a second's delay.

"_Se-sensei,_ what can I do?" Anzu asked, looking determined yet worried and scared at the same time.

"Get Sakura," he answered. At least the girl heard him, seeing how she sprinted out in no time. Sasuke hoisted the boy higher in his arms, surprised how light he was. Once he was secured in his arms, the young man made his way to the doors, ready to sprint. Except a female hand latched on his arm and he almost cursed out loud. He turned to look at Akane. _This better be good._

"Sasuke-_san_, when should we have our second date?" She asked innocently.

Innocent? He snorted at that. He shrugged. "Why don't you _talk _things over with Ino," he answered sarcastically as he shook her hand off and sprint his way towards his home-which was relatively closer than the hospital at the moment.

He no longer lived in the Uchiha residence. Okay, he lived there once in a while. Not as much as the apartment. The Uchiha residence was the perfect place when he needed space from Naruto and his overbearing 'we-need-to-catch-up' schemes. Even after seven years! He wondered how Hinata put up with him. Specifically because his apartment was well equipped with all those gadgets and the residence was pratically traditional-Naruto hated it when there were no games to play or no television to watch. Plus, there were always the good old fashion, "If you set foot in the Uchiha residence, I'll confiscate all your ramen," which works every time. The perks of being cough-best friends-cough with him were knowing full well how to take advantage. It worked for Naruto, too, sadly. He cursed his sligthtly-who was he kidding-addiction to tomatoes and tomatoes related dishes. It did not help Hinata cooked the best tomato dishes he ever tasted so far-hence his dilemma. Sasuke cradled Rui in his right arm as he reached for his keys and dispelled the jutsu he placed on the door before holding him with both hands again. He left the door open, by putting a shoe to stop it from closing.

His apartment was a two bedroom-he could afford more but he knew his friends would take advantage and crash at his place, more than ever since the problem was very apparent whenever he stayed at the Uchiha residence-a living room, bathroom and a joined kitchen-dining room. He laid Rui onto the grey couch in his living room. The boy looked perfectly peaceful, like he was only sleeping-which made matters worse. Sasuke activated his Sharingan again, and heaved a slight sigh of relief. Rui's chakra path was still closing, but not as fast as before. He would have done something if he knew what to do. Of course, he knew the many ways in making someone be in the same state as Rui but frankly, now, he cursed himself for not making time learning some medic jutsu from Sakura other than first aids. He blinked his eyes as he saw the colour of Rui's hair flasing to a shade of purple. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, he thought, even when as he crouched next to the lying boy and held a few strands of the boy's hair nothing changed. No, it was not a trick. In front of his eyes, the boy's hair gradually grew longer, including the bangs, turning into a beautiful purple. It was the same image he had seen back at the store. Excluding the long side bangs.

_Henge no Jutsu_. Transformation technique. As the chakra flow within he boy diminished more, so did the boy's facade. In front of him now was a girl. A twelve-year-old girl. He did not know what to think. The worry was there-what? He gave up on being a cold-hearted, heartless traitor. Another part was his slightly dented pride as a shinobi. How could he not see through the facade? He even owned he Sharingan for _Kami_'s sake. There was also a part filled with curiousity and understanding. Curious as of why and how a girl managed to keep up her _henge_ all this while, especially dring the bell test he sujected the kid through. Suddenly, it all clicked into place, why the girl blushed when he squeezed the clone's chest-which made him want to rub the back of his head before realizing those were Kakashi and Naruto's habits-why Rui seemed to have an interest in teddy bears and why Rui seemed uninterested with his-her female fans. He heard set of steps approaching, and turned to see Neji standing behind him with a frown on his face.

"What happened?" Neji asked tightly as he sat next to Sasuke, his Byakugan activated, his left hand lifting Rui's head, another, holding the child's hand.

"I don't know. I think someone casted a jutsu or something on him—her, which caused her chakra path to close," Sasuke explained.

"_Kuso_," the Byakugan user cursed as he let the child laid back on the couch, his hands clenched in a fist.

"Neji, Rui's a she?" he asked rhetorically.

"Hn."

"Why the secrecy?"

"I don't know. When I first met her, she was already in her _henge_ form. I knew, of course. She knew I knew but she never told me. The why... On our journey back, we were attacked. It seemed normal at the time until one of the attackers aimed for her. She never told me why," answered the Hyuga, putting a strand of hair behind Rui's ear.

Sasuke frowned. He eyed the girl who was his _male_ student. He really hated it when he was being kept in the dark. Not knowing what was going on. He had solid reasons for it too. It all could be encompassed in one word; Itachi. "I see," he commented, not really knowing what else could be said.

"Sasuke-_sensei_! I brought Neji-_san_! Is Rui-_teme_ okay?!" Kane's loud voice boomed, as loud as his footsteps. His voice died however, seeing a girl lying on his teacher's couch. A girl he saw countless times when Rui used his _Henge no Jutsu_. "Why's he in his _henge_ form?" He asked, frowning.

"He—_She_'s not," answered Sasuke.

"Eh? Wha-What'd you mean-"

"_Sensei_! Sakura-_san_'s here!" Anzu's voice interrupted, as the girl stood beside Kane, panting, Sakura walking past them towards her patient. Her face clearly showed surprise and confusion, as of Kane and Anzu but said nothing as the woman realized her priotities.

Upon seeing the young, talented medic, Neji stood up to provide her some space in her mission to treat his most prescious person. Sakura nodded in thanks as she sat in front of the couch, first taking the boy-girl's wrist for a pulse. She frowned as she noticed Rui's pulse was even yet her chakra flow was not. She turned his head towards the two shinobi having possession of two of the three _San Daidojutsu._ "Am what I'm assessing the truth? Rui-_kun_'s chakra is..." Sakura saw the two male, their _kekkei genkai_ still acivated nodded grimly, which made her frown deepened and her mouth set in a thin line. "Everyone leave, now. I think we might be dealing with one of those dreaded Chakra Virus. Except you, Sasuke-_kun_. You've been in contact with Rui-_kun _the longest, so stay," she ordered, taking a thin ribbon to tie up her short, cropped, shoulder length hair.

Though adamant, Neji complied, ushering the two children into one of the rooms Sasuke had tilted her head in direction. As soon as the three left, Sakura turned to Sasuke, her expression serious, no longer the motherly Sakura, mischievous Sakura nor 'scary' Sakura. Her hand touched Rui's forehead, glowing a shade of green, inspecting her patient thoroughly. Her brows furrowed as she came to a conclusion this was not the Chakra Virus plagued years ago. Not the same, more... Tweaked. Altered. It was a poison. She knew the characteristics of poisons and viruses well, being the greatest medic of her generation. Normally, she only had to extract the poison, no matter from any part of the body, it could be done but this one... This one laced with an altered chakra virus once feared by many, only countered five years ago could not be done the same. She needed to know where it was injected. She turned to Sasuke. "Describe me the state you found him," she ordered, not minding she regarded Rui as a boy, still.

Undrstanding dawned on Sasuke. The reason, part of perhaps, true reason perhaps, why Sakura wanted him, and only him with her and Rui. Neji would be distressed with the boy-girl!-being his adopted child, Anzu panicked as before listening to the state of the love of her twelve years life-he was tempted to snort if it was not for the dire situation-and Kane's confusion. Kane and confusion could merge into annoyment. He learnt that the hard way after two months teaching the kid-he was surprised how Sakura knew but belatedly realized she had to deal with Naruto _alone_ during his absence. He proceeded telling her everything, every detail, not missing anything and watched her face etched with relief, hope. He saw her grabbing Rui's fingers, settled on his-her right hand, more distinctly her pinky, lifted to her gaze. Sakura then wrapped a hand around the finger, her face indulged in deep concentration. A white glow emitted from her hand as she extracted a vile, black swirl from Rui's body through the now-known girl's pinky. She tried to reach for her medic bag, unsuccessfully, until Sasuke sat down next to her. "Test tube," she muttered. Sasuke complied, searching her bag and handing the glass tube to her in which she filled the vile thing in and closed it quickly. As soon as that settled, Rui started coughing, her body sweating and she was shivering. Her coughs reached the room Sasuke had led the three, for Neji rushed outside, his Byakugan activated and looking aggravated.

"What's wrong with her, Haruno?!" He demanded, sitting next to the couch and reached for Rui's hand, shocked to find it burning.

"It's the Chakra Virus. Someone altered the virus, turning it into a poison, undetected physically, only someone trained and knowing how the chakra works could sense it. We know what the virus does but this-poison, it made the virus undetected since there were no changes in the patient, no rising fever and such. I extracted the poison and I'll leave it in _Shishou_'s hands. What's left is the virus itself, kicking in, why her body temperature rose now. All that's left would be nursing and feeding Rui the antibiotics," explained Sakura, handing a botle of white liquid. "Don't worry, he-she'll be fine now," she added, smiling.

Neji sighed, his hand relesed that of Rui's and rubbed his face. Three years ago, he would smirk if anyone told him a twelve-year-old would be the death of him yet at the same time the light for him. He was more than relieved Rui was saved. In the time spent with the girl, he found himself growing attached to her. Treating her like family, opening up to the child and those close to him more with her radiance. Amused countless time as she played her part of a boy. To think he could lose her... "_Arigato_, Haruno, Uchiha," he said as he stood up. "I better get Rui home now," he added, taking the petite girl into his arms and carried her out.

"...That's my cue to see Naruto and _Shishou_," said Sakura next, hauling her medic kit. She walked over to Sasuke and tapped his nose. "It seems you just got yourself in trouble again, _nee_, Sasuke-_kun_?" Sakura chimed with a wry smile.

Sasuke turned towards the couch where Rui laid before and to the two children looking at him puzzlingly after walking out of the room they stayed with Neji. He sighed. "You have no idea."

* * *

WHEN she woke up, the first thing she noticed was a blaring disorientation nagging at her mind. Second, was her room in the Hyuga compound. Third, were two heads leaning on her bed. She got up at that, alarm setting in her body only to relax once realizing it was Neji and Ten Ten. She tried to sit up, for a start, only to realize her body felt very heavy, she felt a rush of coldness and hotness hitting her at the same time. A fever. She closed her eyes, as her head began to hurt, as that awful disorientation ceased to give her a piece of relief. It was when the disorientation finally dissolved did she finally the brush of long hair cascading next to her cheek. She was stunned to see the shock of purple hair instead of chocolate brown. She realized now, her disguise had worn of completely. Panic struck in every nerve of her being. Since when? Where? Her memory quickly recalled what she had been doing before blackness took over her senses. She was spying on her teacher with her team. Did her disguise crumble then? _Kami_, please do not let it be so.

"Rui?" A voice startled her, and as she turned, she was met with a relieved look from her adopted father. Seeing that her adopted father was Hyuga Neji, being able to tell he was relieved already counted as an achievement.

"A-Ah... _Otou-san_, I'm sorry for waking you," she apologized, bowing her head. Though she had been calling Neji 'father' for a year now, somehow, she still regained a bit of formality in her manner of speaking although she truly regarded her saviour as her real father.

Neji, in the rare moments he acted differently, cupped the girl's face in his large hands after one touched her forehead to asses her temperature. "No, it's alright. You should have woken me anyway," he replied before brushing a hair over Rui's ears. He took his time assessing his daughter then. It was, after all, the first time he saw her in her true form, not the _henge_ he used to see. He could not help but be glad and hoped Rui would keep up her disguise for years to come. She was cute as a boy but utterly so as her real self. He would have trouble restraining himself from killing any boy who so much looked at his daughter. Funny. After long years, the single person who could unwind him was a little girl he took under his wings-a single person he admitted.

"_Otou-san_, what happened and why... Why am I..."

"Why are you in your real form?" He saw her nodding. "You were attacked and had your chakra path closing in, making your _henge_ dissolve."

"Attacked... That person knows where I am, then," she whispered softly to herself, but Neji managed to catche her words.

"Who is 'that person', Rui?"

Rui bit her bottom lip, as her hands fisted on her blankets and she casted her eyes downwards. "I-I'm sorry but I can't tell you, _Otou-san_."

"Why? Rui, you're my daughter now and I care about you," he insisted.

"I know and I cae about you as well, that's why," she whispered, her whisper tormented.

Neji closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. "I understand. But if this happens again, no more secret," he relented, at last.

"Oi!" At the voice, Neji and Rui abruply turned to find the source, only to realize it came no other from Ten Ten. Except, she was still very much asleep. They shared a confused gaze with each other as another word slipped from the Weapon Mistress's mouth. "Lee... Stop eating all of my dumplings... I'm gonna struck you with all my kunai... Idiot...!"

Hearing that, Rui let out an airy chuckle as Neji himself smiled. "I better get her to the guest room. She crashed our place ofen enough I'm considering making it her room," sighed Neji, returning to his usual cold self. Rui grinned.

"_Nee_, _Otou-san_? Why don't you just marry Ten Ten-_san_? I mean, unofficially, she's already my adopted mother and once you marry her, I can call her _Okaa-san_. Besides, it'll save more room and trouble," she asked in somewhat innocent manner. Mocked innocent would be closer to the truth.

For a while, Neji went silent before lifting Ten Ten in his arms. It would not be the first time he carried her. Normally, if she was still even one percent conscious, he would just hauled her fireman style or drag her but if she was not, then and only then would he cradle her in his arms. Neji could practically feel Rui grinning at her own question. He turned to face her daughter and smirked. "I'll think about it," he answered as he walked to the door.

"_Otou-san_... Who else.. Who else was there when my _henge_ dispelled?" She managed to squeeze out the question nagging at her mind for as long as she heard her disguise diminished.

"Only Sakura, Sasuke and your two teammates," he answered just as hard, knowing what kind of problems she would be facing in the future before he walked out and closed the door behind him. He felt awful, the fact that he could do nothing to help. It was not that he would not, but could not. Teams were essential in the shinobi world. Teammates were sometimes as close as family or even family iself for most shinobi. It was not something he could or should get himself involved in-unless of course in regars to butt saving and the likes. Even so, Neji did trust Rui to solve it sooner or later. She had such tremendous strength, that little girl. As Ten Ten stirred in his arms, a gentle smile lit his face. _Yes, Rui would be just fine, right, Ten Ten?_

After Neji left, she shifted her gaze towards the dark sky outside. She must have been out of sorts for a long time. As she stared at the starry sky, she could not help but wonder what would be in store for her when she saw her team again. Rui knew she was still sick so there was no way to know tomorrow. What would Kane think? He must have felt betrayed. He considered her a rival, as did she. Would he felt cheated? Ego-wounded finding out his rival-who outdid him all the time-was a girl? What about Anzu? She knew Anzu had a crush on her. Would she be heartbroken? Oh, how she hoped she could have doe something. Anzu was a nice girl-aside from some peers-she once thought that if they had met differently, they could be best friends. What of Sasuke-_sensei_ at that? Would he pull her out of Team Seven because she lied to him? Or would he ignore her, if by any chance she could not be removed from the team? She would hate that. He was a good teacher, despite being so cold, unapproachable, a teeny bit-a snort-sadistic. Rui let another deep breath escaped her.

The next time she met her team, things would get messy.

**TBC**

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**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait everyone! I had to settle a few things and did I have one of those dreadful little thingies called 'Writer's Block'.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll work hard to finish chapter six soon!

So, a few side notes;

**Chakra Virus: **A virus which depletes one's chakra by transforming it into a rise in temperature. (If I'm not mistaken)

**Henge no Jutsu:** As we all know, it is a transformation technique in which a shinobi uses his/her chakra and form a disguise-into cats, people, the likes. This particular technique needs a continuous flow of chakra and concentration to maintain the transformed form-in other words, their chakra level would decrease. In this chapter, Sasuke was taken aback since there was no change whatsoever in Rui's chakra, except when in the store, where she only maintained a bit of her 'male' counterpart's look, 'his' side bangs which were barely over 'his' ears. Since it was in a much smaller scale-not totally as usual-Rui managed to convince people she was using _henge_ instead of it being her 'real' self. It's because when she used it totally, the chakra would be focused all over her instead on certain parts.

Why Rui's chakra undergoes no change whatsoever in her _henge_ form?

That's a question to be answered in later chapters... Fufu~

Review and tell me what you think, _nee._


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